Entries tagged with: mykkiblanco

NYC rapper Mykki Blanco will be leaving rap to pursue investigative journalism focused on "homosexuality and gay culture in remote corners of the world." The rapper's first foray into the field will be going to Nepal in May to learn about the rights and culture of the country's third gender "Meti." Mykki's statement also includes plans to go to school for sociology and gender studies soon to learn more about his new focus and the explanation that "writing words that rhyme over beats made by other people mostly male" is no longer an interest.

Local rappers Le1f and Mykki Blanco are teaming up for a show with electronic musician Kingdom at NYU's Kimmel Center on Thursday (2/19). The show's presented by NYU Program Board and NYU LGBTQ Student Center, and it's free for NYU students and only $5 for the general public. Doors are at 7, show at 8. Tickets will be on sale in person starting noon on Thursday. More ticket info and show flyer below.

Long-running NYC experimental band Zs debuted their newest lineup in 2012, which is founder Sam Hillmer with Patrick Higgins and Liturgy drummer Greg Fox, and now they're set to release the first album with that lineup, Xe, on January 27 via Northern Spy. It's Zs' first non-remix or live full length since 2010's New Slaves. They recorded it live with producer Henry Hirsch (Madonna, Mick Jagger, etc), and Tauba Auerbach handled the album's artwork and sculptures. The first single, "Corps," is out now and it's a 12-minute bouncy avant-garde jam that you can check out below. Album artwork and tracklist also below.

Zs have some shows coming up in January just ahead of the release, including an album release party in their hometown on January 21 at Le Poisson Rouge with Mick Barr, Michael Beharie, Bryan Kasenic and Phil Tortoroli. TIckets for that show are on sale now. All dates are listed below.

Sam, Greg and Patrick also gave us their year-end lists for 2014. While the latter two stuck to their favorite albums, Sam gave us his list of the 10 Most Anonymous Comments on Brooklyn Vegan in 2014. You can find out what ended up on those lists, with the song stream and album tracklist/artwork, below...

Glasslands just announced their New Year's Eve show, and now another Williamsburg venue, Baby's All Right, is announcing theirs. It's a stacked, multi-genre night with rapper Mykki Blanco, noise punks Perfect Pussy (who were supposed to play Baby's on NYE last year but dropped off), Ricky Eat Acid, Porches frontman Aaron Maine in his Ronald Paris guise, Sunflower Bean, James K, Dubbel Dutch (DJ), Mr. UNO (DJ), and a "Special Secret Guest" (who could it be?).

Doors open at 7 PM with two hours of open bar from 7-9 PM with Perfect Pussy singer (and solo artist) Meredith Graves DJing. Then EVR radio show Chances With Wolves will be DJing the front room all night after 9 PM.

Tickets go on sale at 10 AM on Tuesday (12/16), and there's an option for some extra dough to also get the "Baby's 2015 Watch" which gets you "free shows for ONE YEAR when you buy this limited edition watch including New Year's Eve (only 100 available!). Some restrictions may apply.

Fake Blood (aka UK producer and DJ Theo Keating) makes fun/quirky dance music and will release The Science EP next week (12/15). You can stream two of the three tracks below. He's going on a DJ tour with fellow Brit Sinden that will hit NYC on Saturday (12/13) at Slake. Alex English is also spinning and tickets are on sale now. All dates are listed below.

As for Sinden, who worked with Mykki Blanco last year, he's recently been releasing music under the The Crystal System banner, which will be a series of collaborations. New single "Got Me Moving" is a collaboration with Fritz and SYF and you can stream that below.

Mykki Blanco's newest album Gay Dog Food came out last month, and now the rapper's scheduled more shows in support of it. Upon returning home to NYC from a European tour, Mykki will play The Jewish Museum's (1109 5th Ave) after-hours events series 'The Wind Up' on November 20. The series features "art, live music, activities, and an open bar" and this installment is focused on the From the Margins: Lee Krasner | Norman Lewis, 1945-1952 exhibition:

Artists Lee Krasner and Norman Lewis innovated "from the margins" of Abstract Expressionism during the 1940s and 50s, and as a woman and an African American, respectively, were often overlooked in mainstream criticism of the time.

P. Morris is DJing, and there will also be "guided tours of From the Margins, spin art t-shirt making, an abstract painting station," and more. Tickets are on sale now.

You can stream Gay Dog Food, which features Kathleen Hanna, Katie Got Bandz, Cakes Da Killa, Cities Aviv, No Bra and more, with the list of Mykki's dates, below...

You can browse our full NYC show calendar for all of tonight's shows, but here are some highlights...

Liturgy, Child Abuse, Cellular Chaos, Oozing Wound @ Death By Audio
Here's a really good reason to get to Death by Audio before it closes. It's the first of two nights that sludgy thrashers Oozing Wound are playing at the venue, and the headliners are one of NYC's most interesting black metal bands, Liturgy, who are a full band once again.

Classixx, Le Youth, Chordashian @ Verboten
Another dance option tonight goes down just down the block from Output at Verboten with LA duo Classixx who are still going strong off last year's debut album, Hanging Gardens.

Dum Dum Girls, Ex Cops, Christines @ Brooklyn Bowl
Dum Dum Girls have always had a flair for the dark side, so them playing on Devil's Night seems like a no brainer. (Maybe throw in an '80s goth cover, ladies? The March Violets' "Snake Dance" perhaps?) Also on the bill: Ex Cop (whose new album takes a turn for the Pop) and the shoegazy Christines.

Sinead O'Connor @ City Winery
The Irish singer released, I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss, earlier this year and finishes her three-night run at City Winery this evening.

Wilco @ The Capitol Theatre
Though Jeff Tweedy and his son just released their terrific Tweedy album, the Wilco train rarely stops rolling, and tonight is on the final of its first of three shows at The Cap'. It's a lovely room, and tickets are still available.

Primus @ The Greene Space
The special day show is billed as "A Very Wonka Afternoon with Primus," and with an emphasis on the band's new album that's based on Roald Dahl's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. The show is sold out but is being taped for WNYC's Soundcheck.

NYC rapper Mykki Blanco is releasing a new album called Gay Dog Food for free download on October 21. It's set to feature an impressive cast of guests including Kathleen Hanna, Katie Got Bandz, Cakes Da Killa, Cities Aviv, No Bra, Ian Isiah and James K. No music's come out from that yet, but Mykki did recently appear on a new song called "Unclassified" by German producer ETИIK. You can stream that below.

Mykki has two dates coming up too, a Halloween celebration on 10/25 in LA and a NYC show on Mischief Night (10/30) at Glasslands. Tickets for the NYC show are on sale now.

"Calling it Adrian Thaws is saying you don't really know me," says Tricky, explaining the title of his 11th album. "So many times people have tried to put a finger on me and every album I go to a different place."

It's typical of one of music's most unpredictable characters that the first album to bear his birth name is one of his least introspective. Adrian Thaws is a vivid, attention-grabbing set of songs which roam from hip hop to house, jazz to blues, rock to reggae. It was recorded in Tricky's home studio in London, where he's living again after almost two decades in New York, Los Angeles and Paris, and features an international crew of collaborators: Francesca Belmonte, Nneka, Mykki Blanco, Bella Gotti, Tirzah, Blue Daisy and Oh Land. It's designed to be played loud.

"I suppose this is my club/hip hop album," he says. "I've only heard my music a few times in a club but I grew up in clubs from when I was 14: blues parties, hip hop clubs, a few raves. I'm not known for doing club music but this album has some club tracks on it - well, what I would consider club music."

Listen to the track with Francesca Belmonte, titled "Nicotine Love", below. Adrian Thaws will be out 9/8/2014 via Tricky's own label False Idols. That's the cover art above. The full tracklist is below.

Meanwhile, Tricky's old friends Massive Attack are keeping busy with a handful of shows scheduled this year, including the Treasure Island Music Festival in San Francisco in October, and two other California shows and one in Mexico during that same trip. They co-headline London's OnBlackheath festival in September, and they just announced Grace Jones will be joining them at that one! They just played Glastonbury and you can check out their setlist from that, along with their North American dates, the new Tricky track and more, below...

I was swindled, by the Portuguese police department for being a gay black tourist that is the only explanation for this situation. I had literally just got off of a plane was in the airport on my way to the art gallery I am currently doing a residency at and I was taken advantage of by the Portuguese police. More than an act of racism and prejudice or even homophobia ( which were all 3 factors) I realized that class matters and that an upwardly mobile black man isn't something people always want to see.

I was arrested for telling a police officer to "go fuck himself" after I repeatedly and politely asked him where I could purchase a taxi voucher since he worked with the taxi attendant at the airport. the altercation escalated because I waited in a long line like everyone else outside the airport for a taxi and when I was told by the taxi attendant that I could not use my credit card but only cash the taxi attendant and cop refused to help or answer any other questions I had about an alternative in anyway. They were impatient and short with me all the while eagerly helping white tourists who were behind me in line while I waited to be addressed.

A Portuguese woman in the same taxi line with me even leaned over and whispered "I don't know why they are being so strange with you, there is a place inside to buy taxi vouchers you don't need cash". I should have listened to the woman and went inside myself to find the voucher office but there is apart of my personality that really wants to see if people WILL actually be prejudiced, to see if maybe my PC west coast optimism about the world is being challenged by blatant discrimination and I was right. I asked the police officer where the voucher office was and I was told to "go away" like I was nuance as if I had not waited in the same line as all the other white tourists and when I asked why he could not help but could gladly help the other tourists I was yelled at and told to "go away bicha" which is a gay slur, even though I had waited in the same line as everyone else.

The world aint a fair place, and the idea of a young successful black guy doesn't always fly everywhere but I was insulted, and discriminated against so I said "Fuck you" and walked away...well he followed me inside, used his radio to call other police causing a scene in the airport and told me "You are under arrest" I said "excuse me, I have not committed a crime, I asked you for help and you refused to help me" he said "You have insulted a police officer and that is a crime in Portugal, you can't talk to me that way" and he arrested me.

The Noisey article also mentions he was ordered to pay a 600 euro fine.

Will hip hop ever accept me? Who gives a fuck. Will the gay community turn their back on me if I stop dressing in drag? Who gives a fuck. Will I get signed? Who gives a fuck. I did a world tour off the strength of soundcloud singles, a lo-fi mixtape and my first EP. I was out there, I saw the power of music and saw the power of love and now I just want to develop my music and have fun. People who fuck with Mykki Blanco fuck with Mykki Blanco no image or politics needed.

Light a blunt with your friends and listen to my new track Booty Bamboo. I feel free, I hope you do to.

NYC rapper Mykki Blanco already has a mixtape and EP out, and plans to follow it with an official LP in 2014. That album is being teased with the new single "Booty Bamboo" that Mykki just posted to Soundcloud along with the above message. It was produced by Amnesia Scanner and can be downloaded above or streamed below.

As discussed, Mykki rings in the new year in NYC at Gramercy Theatre on New Year's Eve with a ton of excellent guests, including production wizard DJ Rashad, UNO R&B singer Ian Isiah, Boychild, DJ Larry B, T.E.A.M.S., Junglepussy, Princess Nokia, and Michael Magnan. Tickets to that show are still available.

A few days earlier, Mykki's friend Le1f plays Brooklyn Bowl (12/28), and guests for that show were recently announced too. They include some of the same names playing Mykki's show, like Ian Isiah, Junglepussy, and Princess Nokia, plus House of Ladosha, Lakutis, and Mess Kid. DonChristian and Boody Rahel are opening, and Juniana Huxtable and Superpusha are hosting. Tickets for that show are still available too.

Thanksgiving is upon us, and in addition to stuffing your face on Thursday, it also means looking for good deals on all your holiday shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (and probably the rest of December). NYC music venues Irving Plaza and Gramercy Theatre are getting in on the Black Friday/Cyber Monday fun, and offering no Ticketmaster fees for all shows happening in December and January at Irving and Dec-Feb at Gramercy.

Future-rapper Le1f, who just joined his pal Blood Orange at 285 Kent last week (11/15), will be over in Australia this December for a couple festivals, including Slanted and Enchanted and Meredith Music Fest. But upon returning home, he'll do a NYC show just before the new year at Brooklyn Bowl on December 28. Tickets for that show are on sale now, and special guests TBA. It's his only announced US date at the moment.

Le1f also appears, along with likeminded rapper Mykki Blanco, on UNO-affiliated R&B singer Ian Isiah's new mixtape, The Love Champion. Production on the tape comes from Brenmar, Gobby, Sinjin Hawke, Royal, ShyGuy, and Boody. You can stream it in full below, and download it for free (legally) at Mediafire.

More pics from Day 1 HERE and HERE, pics from Day 2 pics HERE and HERE; and pics from Day 3 are HERE and HERE, Slayer included....

Closing Fun Fun Fun Fest, Slayer treated Austin to greatest hits and then some: "Raining Blood," "South of Heaven," "Dead Skin Mask," "Seasons in the Abyss," etc. They also dug out the aforementioned "Die by the Sword," a high point off their 1983 debut LP, Show No Mercy.

After fooling no one with a false ending of "South of Heaven," the third backdrop of the night unfurled at the back of the stage: a parody of the Heineken logo reading "Hanneman" and bearing his life dates. The top read "Angel of Death." Reign in Blood's terrifying opening track - and closing number on Auditorium Shores - now serves as an epitaph for Slayer's fallen co-founder. - [Austin Chronicle]

The eighth Fun Fun Fun Fest happened last weekend (11/8 - 11/10) at Austin's Auditorium Shores, hosting three days of music and fun (fun fun), with such acts as MIA, Deerhunter, Slayer, Television, Thee Oh Sees, Kurt Vile, Cut Copy. Johnny Marr, The Walkmen, Jurassic 5, Killer Mike and loads more. Many of them played again as part of the FFF Nites shows, including shows presented by BrooklynVegan and Invisible Oranges.

We were there in the thick of it and, as mentioned above, you can check out pics from Day 1 HERE and HERE, pics from Day 2 pics HERE and HERE; and pics from Day 3 are HERE and HERE. See you again in 2014 Austin.

The fact that Phishwill play the refurbished Madison Square Garden again this New Year's Eve is old news already, but Barclays Center just announced today (10/31) who will be playing the Brooklyn arena's second-ever New Year's Eve show, and the honor goes to.... Billy Joel (UPDATE: and the recently reunitedBen Folds Five) (last year was Jay-Z and Coldplay).

Here are a few already-announced New Year's Eve shows we're rather be at this year...

Thurston Moore will set up shop at the Stone in the East Village for two special shows on 12/31, one with John Zornand another with Mike Watt.

Brooklyn's free annual Afro-Punk Festival returned to Commodore Barry Park over the weekend for two days (8/24-25) of punk, rap, and everything in between, plus biking, skating, and more. The first day gave us sets from Mykki Blanco, Le1f, Ninjasonik, M.O.P., Saul Williams, Jean Grae, The Heavy, Theophilus London, Rye Rye, and more. Dead Prez made a "special guest" appearance, and word on the street was that Alicia Keys was supposed to as well, but she was a no show. Pictures of day 1 are in this post, and more are at Facebook and Google+.

The full weekend schedule has been released, with artists playing on two stages from noon - 9:30 PM or so both Saturday and Sunday. Full schedule is below.

Additionally, there will also be "Afro-Punk After Dark" events happening after the fest at various Brooklyn venues both Saturday and Sunday nights. Over 20 After Dark events are happening, including "pop-up performances, celebrity DJ sets, comedy shows, film screenings, art installations, and Story Slams." Full After Dark listings are at Afro-Punk's website.

NYC rapper Mykki Blanco likes to spend a lot of time on the road (and playing locally), and he recently announced more shows for this year, including a hometown gig on New Year's Eve (12/31) at Gramercy Theatre. Tickets for that show are currently on PopGun presale (password: "CosmicAngel"). They go on Live Nation/Mobile App and Music Geeks (password: "musicgeeks") presales Thursday (8/8) at 10 AM, and general on-sale starts Friday (8/9) at 10 AM.

That show comes after a number of other North American shows this summer/fall, including Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest, and another NYC appearance as part of the free Afro-Punk Festival, which goes down on August 24-25 at Commodore Barry Park with Danny Brown, Le1f, Big Freedia, Death, Chuck D, and more. RSVP for Afro-Punk Fest is still open.

The Afro-Punk Festival is returning to Fort Greene's Commodore Barry Park from August 24-25 this year. The Brooklyn festival lineup is great as always, and includes some of our favorite newer rappers like Danny Brown, Mykki Blanco, and Le1f; New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia, legendary punks Death, younger punks Trash Talk, Chuck D of Public Enemy and DJ Lord performing Fear of a Black Planet, Questlove, Jean Grae, Saul Williams, K-os and more TBA. The festival is open to all ages, and totally free, but you do have to RSVP. You can also donate on paypal for "fast pass admission" tickets.

Earlier this month (5/7), Brooklyn venue Glasslands hosted a great multi-genre bill as part of the Red Bull Music Academy NYC residency with sets from rappers Mykki Blanco and Le1f, arty electronic music from Laurel Halo, Crazy Bitch In A Cave, and Papercutz, and DJ sets from Venus X and Spank DJs. Did you go to that show? If so, how was it?

Red Bull Music Academy just posted a video of Mykki Blanco performing "Feeling Special" and Le1f performing "Wut" to their Youtube channel, and you can watch both videos below. You can also stream Venus X's set over at RBMA Radio.

"Feeling Special" appears on Mykki Blanco's new EP, Betty Rubble: The Initiation, which came out this week (5/21) via UNO. If you liked Mykki's debut mixtape, Cosmic Angel: The Illuminati Prince/ss, you'll likely be a fan of the new EP too. You can stream it in full at Pitchfork and listen to two of its tracks below.

Le1f also recently made a video for "Spa Day" off his Fly Zone mixtape. That video, and all other streams and videos below...

The Red Bull Music Academy already announced a huge NYC residency which includes a number of great shows at multiple venues, and this thing just keeps getting bigger and better. RBMA has now announced some new shows and updates to previously-announced ones. For example, the "Night Of Improvised Round Robin Duets" that's happening on May 1 at Brooklyn Masonic Temple has added Andrew Bird, Robert Glasper, Vijay Iyer and Roy Hargrove to the mix that already included Questlove, Andrew WK, James Chance, Julia Holter, Kim Gordon, Thundercat, and others. Tickets for that show are still available. The full lineup is below.

Rapper Mykki Blanco, who just headlined Bowery Ballroom, and who was recently announced for this weekend's (4/5-7) Blues for Smoke festival at the Whitney Museum with Le1f, has also been added to Le1f's RBMA show. That show happens on May 7 at Glasslands with Laurel Halo, Venus X, Spank DJs, and others (tickets).

And UK bass/house producer Mosca and Mathew Jonson have been added to the closing night party on May 31 at 74 Wythe Ave that also features L.I.E.S. feat. Legowelt, Beautiful Swimmers, Marcos Cabral, Willie Burns, Bookworms, Professor Genius, Jahiliyya Fields, Shawn O'Sullivan + Kerri Chandler, and Red Bull Music Academy Allstars. Tickets are still available.

Updated Red Bull Music Academy schedule HERE. The full list of lineup additions for the residency and the full lineup for the "Night of Improvised Round Robin Duets" show below...